Interfaith dialogue in Qatar. Have your say!

Informed Consent Script - Online Survey

BY SUBMITTING THIS SURVEY, YOU ARE INDICATING YOUR CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY. YOU MAY SKIP ANY QUESTIONS YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE ANSWERING.

You are invited to participate in a research study titled “Understanding Qatar’s Interfaith Dialogue Culture: Motivations, Trends, and Challenges”. This study is being conducted by Asim Koldzo, a senior student at Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service in Qatar. The study is being conducted to understand the state of interfaith dialogue in Qatar – current trends, motivations behind its promotion, as well as possible challenges in the Qatari environment. The results obtained through this survey will be used solely for the purposes of the study.

Participation in this study is entirely voluntary at all times. You can choose not to participate at all or to leave the study at any time. Regardless of your decision, there will be no effect on your relationship with the principal investigator or any other consequences.

You are being asked to take part in this study because you are a resident/citizen of Qatar aged above 18.

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to fill out a survey about the state of interfaith dialogue in Qatar. Questions fall into three categories: general information about you, your religious views, and your attitude vis-à-vis interfaith dialogue in Qatar. The survey should take around 15 minutes to complete. Should you find some questions difficult or inappropriate, you can skip them. The results will be collected by the principal investigator through the password-protected SurveyMonkey account.

All of your responses to this survey will remain anonymous and cannot be linked to you in any way. No identifying information about you will be collected at any point during the study, and your survey will be identified only with a random pseudonym. Once you submit your completed survey, there will be no way to withdraw your responses from the study because the survey contains no identifying information.

Study data will be kept both in digital and paper format. Digital data will be kept in a password- and fingerprint-protected file on the principal investigator’s and the faculty mentor’s computer. Both devices will be encrypted as per the Georgetown University data protection policies. Paper data will be kept in a locked box in the faculty mentor’s office for a set period of seven years. Only the principal investigator and the faculty mentor will have access to the data at all times.

Participation in the study might pose minimal risk to you in the form of asking sensitive questions that might cause you some level of inconvenience. However, you are free to not to answer any such questions and that will not affect your participation in the study. You also have the right to withdraw at any time from participating in the study without any consequences whatsoever.

While you will not experience any direct benefits from participation, information collected in this study may benefit others in the future by helping improve knowledge about the state of interfaith dialogue in Qatar. This is the first study of its kind and will provide valuable information for both Qatari policymakers, academics, and wider public. Following its completion, the results of the study will be freely available online.

If you have any questions regarding the survey or this research project in general, please contact the principal investigator, Asim Koldzo, at +447549219622 or asim.koldzo@stb.ox.ac.uk. You may also contact the faculty mentor, Dr. Patrick Laude at laudep@georgetown.edu. Please call Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service in Qatar IRB Office at 4457-8414 (8:30am to 5:00pm, Sunday to Thursday) if you have any questions about your rights as a participant.

By completing and submitting this survey, you are indicating your consent to participate in this study.

Asim Koldzo Principal Investigator

We highly value your time and effort. Kindly proceed! :)

1.
What age group do you belong to?

18 – 25

25 – 35

35 – 50

50 – 65

65 and above

2.
What is your gender?

Male

Female

Other

3.
How many years have you lived in Qatar?

Less than a year

One to five

Five to 10

10 to 20

20 to 30

More than 30

Citizen

4.
What is your nationality?

5.
What is your native language?

6.
In addition to your native language, how many other languages can you speak?

None

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

More than five

7.
Can you speak Arabic?

Yes

No

8.
If yes, how would you rate your level of Arabic?

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Fluent

9.
What is your current marital status?

Single

Married

Separated

Divorced

Widowed

10.
Do you live with your parents?

Yes

No

11.
What is your current monthly household income (in QAR)?

500-1000

1000-2000

2000-5000

5000-10000

10000-20000

20000-50000

Above 50000

12.
How many children do you have?

None

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

More than seven

13.
What is the highest level of education you have completed thus far?

15.
If yes, kindly specify where and when.

16.
What is your primary source of news?

17.
Kindly specify if there is any particular news source (print or online) that you follow especially closely.

18.
What defines your identity?

Not at all

To a small degree

To a certain degree

To a large degree

Family

Family Not at all

Family To a small degree

Family To a certain degree

Family To a large degree

Friends

Friends Not at all

Friends To a small degree

Friends To a certain degree

Friends To a large degree

Nation

Nation Not at all

Nation To a small degree

Nation To a certain degree

Nation To a large degree

Religion/Ideology

Religion/Ideology Not at all

Religion/Ideology To a small degree

Religion/Ideology To a certain degree

Religion/Ideology To a large degree

Profession

Profession Not at all

Profession To a small degree

Profession To a certain degree

Profession To a large degree

Interests

Interests Not at all

Interests To a small degree

Interests To a certain degree

Interests To a large degree

Hobbies

Hobbies Not at all

Hobbies To a small degree

Hobbies To a certain degree

Hobbies To a large degree

19.
How important are the following in your life?

Not at all important

Not very important

Rather important

Very important

Family

Family Not at all important

Family Not very important

Family Rather important

Family Very important

Friends

Friends Not at all important

Friends Not very important

Friends Rather important

Friends Very important

Leisure time

Leisure time Not at all important

Leisure time Not very important

Leisure time Rather important

Leisure time Very important

Politics

Politics Not at all important

Politics Not very important

Politics Rather important

Politics Very important

Work

Work Not at all important

Work Not very important

Work Rather important

Work Very important

Religion

Religion Not at all important

Religion Not very important

Religion Rather important

Religion Very important

Well-done. You made it half-way through. Keep walking...

20.
Do you believe in God?

Yes

No

Unsure

21.
What, if any, religious confession do you belong to?

Islam

Christianity

Judaism

Buddhism

Hinduism

Sikhism

Jainism

Other

Confession

Confession Islam menu

Confession Christianity menu

Confession Judaism menu

Confession Buddhism menu

Confession Hinduism menu

Confession Sikhism menu

Confession Jainism menu

Confession Other menu

22.
How would you describe your knowledge of the religious confession you belong to?

Extremely low

Average

Extremely high

Extremely low

Average

Extremely high

23.
How would you describe your level of religiosity?

Not religious

Average

Very religious

Not religious

Average

Very religious

24.
Kindly describe the degree of change in your religious life since coming to Qatar.

Extremely negative

No change

Extremely positive

Extremely negative

No change

Extremely positive

25.
Please specify what, if anything, caused this change.

26.
Have you ever experienced any problems in practicing your religion since moving to Qatar?

Yes

No

27.
If you have answered the previous question positively, what specific problems did you or still do face?

28.
Do you have access to a place of worship?

Yes

No

Sometimes

29.
Do you have access to senior religious figures belonging to your confession?

Yes

No

Sometimes

30.
Do you have access to relevant religious texts/literature?

Yes

No

31.
Do you use the Internet to access religious texts/recitations/lectures?

Yes

No

Sometimes

32.
How would you describe the level of religious tolerance in Qatar?

Extremely low

Average

Extremely high

Extremely low

Average

Extremely high

33.
How much do you know about following religions?

Not at all

To a small degree

To a certain degree

To a large degree

Completely

Islam

Islam Not at all

Islam To a small degree

Islam To a certain degree

Islam To a large degree

Islam Completely

Christianity

Christianity Not at all

Christianity To a small degree

Christianity To a certain degree

Christianity To a large degree

Christianity Completely

Judaism

Judaism Not at all

Judaism To a small degree

Judaism To a certain degree

Judaism To a large degree

Judaism Completely

Buddhism

Buddhism Not at all

Buddhism To a small degree

Buddhism To a certain degree

Buddhism To a large degree

Buddhism Completely

Hinduism

Hinduism Not at all

Hinduism To a small degree

Hinduism To a certain degree

Hinduism To a large degree

Hinduism Completely

Sikhism

Sikhism Not at all

Sikhism To a small degree

Sikhism To a certain degree

Sikhism To a large degree

Sikhism Completely

Jainism

Jainism Not at all

Jainism To a small degree

Jainism To a certain degree

Jainism To a large degree

Jainism Completely

34.
How often do you interact with persons belonging to another religious confession?

Never

Sometimes

Extremely often

Never

Sometimes

Extremely often

35.
How beneficial do you find these interactions to be?

Not beneficial at all

Interesting

Life-changing

Not beneficial at all

Interesting

Life-changing

36.
What, if anything, does interfaith dialogue mean to you?

37.
Do you believe that Qatar is doing enough to promote interfaith dialogue?

Yes

No

38.
Have you heard about any interfaith dialogue initiatives in Qatar?

Yes

No

39.
If yes, how did you hear about these initiatives? (mark any that apply)

Word of mouth

Print newspaper (Arabic)

Print newspaper (English)

TV (Arabic)

TV (English)

Internet (Arabic)

Internet (English)

40.
If you answered previous questions positively, could you kindly name one or two interfaith dialogue initiatives in Qatar that you have heard of?

41.
How would you rate Qatar's efforts to promote interfaith dialogue?

Not effective at all

Somewhat effective

Extremely effective

Not effective at all

Somewhat effective

Extremely effective

42.
In your opinion, what are the additional ways in which Qatar can promote interfaith dialogue?

Congratulations, you made it! And hopefully contributed to the cause of furthering human knowledge. Thank you so much!

Should you have any questions, critiques, suggestions, or would just like to exchange a word or two, do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at ak445@georgetown.edu. I would be delighted to hear about your views on this topic in more detail.

Once again, thank you for your time, effort, and kindness. May it be splendidly rewarded because, as John Ruskin remarks, "a little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money."